Sat 17 Oct, 2009
We’ve hit an interesting point in the novel.
Things are getting bad. Adam’s badly hurt, and Tom’s tired of passively accepting Brask’s direction. So Tom decides to do a little direction of his own.
When I’ve shown this book to adults, some of them express surprise that the kids are so passive, that they don’t do much. I secretly think that a lot of adults have forgotten what it’s really like to be a kid; your entire life is structured and controlled by others. Other people decide when you wake up, what you do, and where you go. It’s all (ideally) for your own good, but even so kids are constantly under adults’ control. Kids may whine and complain, but they go along with the vast majority of whatever adults tell them to do.
It takes a lot for a kid to really stand up to an adult. Beyond just “I don’t wanna.” Most kid rebellion is at most passive, dragging one’s feet.
I hope all my readers–adult and otherwise–understand this about the characters in this novel. These kids are used to taking orders. Standing up to Brask is a huge step for Tom. It’s part of growing up, of determining when something is wrong, finding the right time to act, then screwing up one’s courage and going for it.
